title: Central nervous system involvement in adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma.
abstract: Central nervous system (CNS) involvement was reviewed in 99 patients with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). Fifteen episodes of CNS involvement developed in ten of 99 patients (10.1%); nine had leptomeningeal involvement, whereas two developed intracerebral invasion, one developed cord involvement, and one developed both. CNS involvement was more frequent in the lymphoma type than in the other types of ATLL. Nuchal rigidity was not common (33%) and a syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) occurred in association with CNS involvement (40%). Three episodes of marked hypoglycorrhachia also were noticed. The systemic progression of ATLL was the most common setting of CNS involvement (80%) and the major cause of death (80%). As for the acute and lymphoma types of ATLL, no significant difference was observed in survival between patients with and those without CNS involvement. These results indicate that CNS involvement is not an essential prognostic factor of ATLL and that it should be treated with systemic chemotherapy coupled with intrathecal chemotherapy. The control of systemic ATLL is important for the prophylaxis of CNS involvement.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Teshima
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Akashi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shibuya
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sumida
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hanada
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Niho
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000166:cytology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D011379:Prognosis; D014667:Vasopressins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014667:Vasopressins